The day was bl**din cold, in fact as we stood in the carpark at the Ten O'Clock there were snowflakes drifting past our faces! There were 11 bikes, many with pillions, waiting for the off. It was soon decided that this would be the shortest ever Northants & Milton Keynes ride-out... and we make no apologies for that! When we arrived at the Needle and Awl a full 10 miles later we were all frozen stiff.
The pub, although new, is very nice and they sell well priced pubgrub. The large mugs of coffee also went down very well, once they'd warmed out hands. It was a great way to start the year and brush the cobwebs off our bikes.
Stritchy

We like tradition, so as usual the 2008 Christmas party was held in January. 28 members enjoyed an excellent three course meal at the Ten O'Clock, handsomely cooked by Donna.
Once the crackers where pulled, it didn't take long for the missiles to start flying. The 'Secret Santa' is always a treat and this year was no exception, with some astonishing presents being given and received - Jennie!
Special thanks must go to Chrystal who kept us well supplied with drinks and waited on the tables for us.
An excellent evening with laughs all round.
Stritchy

The ever popular Quiz & Chips night kicked off at 8pm promptly (I know, coz I got there at 5 past!) with a full bar and 38 people, despite the threat of snow and sub-zero temperatures! Brian was the quiz master and had found a wide range of questions that tested the assembled masses. Sue and Kaci left half way through the questions and returned with 3 boxes full of chips, pies, fish, sausages and kebabs. They were absolutely delicious, as usual.
Unfortunately, the visiting team from Beds Branch won - yet again - in a close contest. They were presented with a brilliant trophy, crafted by Jennie.
Stritchy

Over the last 3 years the Northants & MK Branch has raised in excess of £20,000 for the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance. Mark Talbot, a volunteer for the W&NAA came over to explain to us where our money was being spent.
A packed bar heard how this air ambulance goes to 5-7 emergencies a day, that's over 8000 calls since the service was formed in 2003. They are funded completely by private donations (no government or lottery funding at all) and it costs over £2,000,000 a year to run, but only 9p in the pound is spent on administration - which means that over 90% of the money you give goes to saving lives.
Mark's talk was from the heart, as his son's life was saved by the W&NAA in 2008 after a car turned in front of him. Fund raising is his way of 'giving something back'. Incidentally, the majority of call-outs aren't to road traffic accidents - it's to horse riders!
It was a very entertaining and informative night.
Stritchy

An absolutely gorgeous spring evening saw 23 bikes leave the 10 O'Clock for the first Wednesday evening run of 2009.
As the evenings get dark quite early, we started at 7.45pm for the 35 mile ride to Stibbington Diner. We took in a variety of roads, from single tracks to fast A roads. Even a few spots of rain didn't spoil the ride.
The smallest bike, Andrew's 125, took the journey in it's stride, as did he - which considering he's only just passed his CBT is very good going.
The diner staff looked a little stunned when we all turned up, but took the invasion in their stride and supplied the usual good service and food.
Welcome Andrew, Robin and Chris, who joined us for the first time on a ride-out.
Stritchy

What a beautiful night for a bike ride.
There was already 15 bikes waiting for us as we rode into the car park of The Ten O'Clock. By MUFO there was a total of 23 bikes and 31 people.
Dan led us out of the pub car park and on towards the A509. Turning right towards Burton Latimer then up Bell Hill to Finedon. From there we went towards Wellingborough before turning into Sidegate Lane towards Irthlingborough. Turning right it was past Leyland Complex, over the Railway bridge just as a train went under it. Round by the Embankment in Wellingborough, through Little Irchester then up Gypsy Lane and into Irchester. From there it was Farndish, Wollaston, Grendon. Earls Barton, Sywell, Holcott, Brixworth (where Gerald on the Benelli had a slight problem, rapidly rectified) Chapel Brampton before reaching our destination at The King's Head in Spratton. A good mixture of small country roads and a few slightly bigger faster roads.
Despite the fact we had 5 new members who had never riden in a group before the ride went smoothly with everybody coping with the drop off system.
We welcome Phil and Linda, Jonathan and Louise (on Dave's old Pan), Will, Andy and Paul.
Sue

What a beautiful night for a bike ride.
Well, wasn`t sure if the run was going to ahead, as the weather forecast wasn`t good. But glad to say the weather held off, and 21 bikes turned up for the run. The run started through Orlingbury, Hannington and many more lovely Northamptonshire villages. Also found a country track to Draughton and went through some lovely fields, all the bikes looked great in a single file through the fields. Again through some more villages, then onto the A508 for a bit of speed! Ending up at Chapel Brampton, at the pub called the Brampton Halt, which was very welcoming. Welcome to Marie and Dil who joined us for the ride. Nice to see Nic and Alan at the pub after the run. Thanks to Jim for being tail end charlie, a good night had by all.
Shaz

On the second wettest day of the month and the England football match on terrestrial TV, an interesting night for a ride out! The weather was as unpredictable as a politician’s expense claim, but the decision was made to carry on regardless.
An interesting mix of road surfaces, from dry to varying degrees of dampness, led us out to the Bramptons, Cottesbrooke, Naseby, Kelmarsh before arriving at Arthingworth. We managed about 25 miles in the dry and hit rain in the last 10 minutes of the ride, so not as bad as some initially thought.
There was an unscheduled stop near Naseby, due to my RAM mount being shaken loose. Thanks to Dibble and Kev for their swift assistance.
Penfold

It was a fantastic night for a ride, clear skies and warm with a lovely breeze - which accounts for the 36 bikes who took part in the run! We zig-zagged across Northants, at times with the sun blinding us completely, taking in many country roads that had never seen this much traffic. On occassions the village locals were amazed too.
We ended up, after a 41 mile ride, at the Greyhound in Milton Malsor. The garden was filled with chatting bikers, aged from pensioners to a 7 year old! Welcome to Vic & Pam, Teresa, Kevin and Paul & Mark who joined us for the first time on an Everyotherrun.
Jim

On a dull overcast evening 13 bikes set off led by Alan with Penfold as Tail End Charlie. Taking a back lane past the golf club we joined the A510 at Finedon and followed it through to the A14, a short 3 mile blast then saw us head north on A605 to Oundle getting stuck behind 2 lorries (grrrrrr). Taking a right at the north end of Oundle we then started the fun part of the run through Polebrook, Lutton, Washingley & Caldecote before joining the B660 south Through Gt Gidding, Winick, Old Weston, Catworth and through to Kimbolton. Turning west onto the B645 for the last mile saw us end the run at the White Horse in Tilbrook.
The rain held off and we were warmly welcomed by the landlord (himself a biker with a Hayabusa but as his missus owns a VFR400 he was forgiven this sin). A small incident with Mickey dropping his bike whilst marking a junction marred the evening. I was mis-informed of the situation and believing he had broken down and that 2 other bikers were going to wait with him I duly carried on with the run expecting to ring one of them when I got to Tilbrook. However Mickey and his bike were fine and carried on but as somebody had now stopped junction marking Penfold had to use his navigational skills to lead 5 bikes to the pub. Not many runs where you start as Tail End Charlie and finish as run leader !!
Alan

In common with many other HOC Branches up and down the country, this Branch organised a ride-out and Sunday Roast.
This year we were the guests of Bedfordshire Branch. We left the pub at 11am and meandered through the North Beds villages scooting past Bedford via Kempston.
A bumpy ride through Cardington and past Old Warden took us to the flat wide pleasure of the A507 to meet North London and Beds Branches at Baldock Services.
Graham then led us to The Chequers, unfortunately, Ruth got a little 'over enthusiastic' with Radar and her bike started to run rough (hard to tell I know with her Trumf), but it was just spark plugs breaking down under load! We all enjoyed fine Sunday roasts and scrumptious puds! It was a lovely day and a pleasure to meet old friends.
Stritchy